Queer Screen Film Festival Full Program Released

And there are actually as many lesbian films as there are films about gay men!!

By Madeleine Gray

Published: 2017.08.15 02:27 AM

Via The Feels

Queer strength has never been more important, as Australia strives to get over one of the biggest roadblocks to acceptance – marriage equality. As we know, queer representation plays a crucial part in changing the zeitgeist and letting bigots know that the “gay agenda” is really just love, brunch, and co-owning pets.

The 5th annual Queer Screen Film Fest will run from 19 September – 24 September 2017 at Event Cinemas George Street, and will feature 20 films from four continents, including 16 Australian premieres.

Excitingly for the lesbian community, the Festival is dedicated to ensuring that “queer films” doesn’t actually equate to “almost all films about gay men except one token lesbian film”.

We love and support our gay male family, but let’s face it, patriarchy doesn’t stop when queerness begins, and the disturbingly lesser amount of lesbian representation compared to gay male representation speaks to that original binary inequality.

Says Festival Director, Lisa Rose, “The fact that we have increased our screenings to 20 films across 15 sessions this year, but have parity between the lesbian focused films with that of gay men, is something I really wanted to achieve for my first festival. Not many, if any, LGBTIQ Film Festivals can claim that, and I’m incredibly proud that Queer Screen champions the visibility of women in film and society.”

In that vein, here are the lesbian and queer female films that we cannot wait to see at the Festival:

SEVENTEEN by Monja ArtAustria; German with English subtitles
Wednesday 20 September, 7pm, Event Cinemas George Street

In this beautiful and genuine film (winner of the Audience Award at Inside Out – Toronto’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival), we follow Cici as she returns from Taiwan to Macau to mourn a lost friend, Ling, and reconnect with the past she has long left behind. Buy tickets here.

THE LAVENDER SCARE by Josh HowardUSA; English with no subtitles
Saturday 23 September, 1pm, Event Cinemas George StreetFREE SESSION

We often watch documentaries about the Stonewall riots and subsequent protests in the United States, however, rarely do we see the lead-up to this iconic turning point. This free seniors screening of The Lavender Scare aims to fill in some of these blanks. Reserve tickets here.

CHAVELA by Catherine Gund, Daresha KyiUSA; English and Spanish with English subtitles
Saturday 23 September, 4pm, Event Cinemas George Street

Winning the audience award for Best Documentary at Frameline, this film paints a portrait of a cigar-smoking, tequila-downing rebel and queer icon, Chavela Vargas. Buy tickets here

Even if you already know of Marsha P. Johnson and fellow Stonewall veteran Sylvia Rivera, it won’t stop you from being captivated by this examination of their lives and Marsha’s untimely death in 1992. Buy tickets here.

THE FEELS by Jenée LaMarqueUSA; English with no subtitles
Sunday 24 September, 6:30pm, Event Cinemas George Street

This sweet and sexy romp, set during a lesbian bachelorette weekend away, questions all we know about love, sex, and intimacy after one of the brides-to-be lets slip her biggest secret. Buy tickets here.